Snow falls as temperatures plunge in Fort Collins

Dec. 3, 2013

Operator, David Banghart fills up his truck with salt brine which he is helping to apply on the city's streets at the City of Fort Collins Streets Facility Tuesday Dec. 3, 2013, in preparation of the coming snow storm. / V. Richard Haro/The Coloradoan

Operator, David Banghart fills up his truck with salt brine which he is helping to apply on the city's streets at the City of Fort Collins Streets Facility Tuesday Dec. 3, 2013, in preparation of the coming snow storm. / V. Richard Haro/The Coloradoan

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Forecasters say the snow and cold temperatures will get worse before they get better, with a predicted low Thursday night of possibly 12 degrees below zero and up to a foot of snow for Fort Collins.

Temperatures on Wednesday are expected to be in the single digits, dropping to about 8 below zero by Thursday morning before continuing their slide through Friday morning.

Normal high temperatures for this time of year are in the mid-40s.

"This is really cold air that's been held up in the Arctic and has come free," said meteorologist Kyle Fredin with the National Weather Service in Boulder. "It's just going to continue to go down."

Fredin said the storm is predicted to drop 7-12 inches of snow on Fort Collins when it's finished. Snowflakes began falling in Fort Collins around 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Temperatures then dropped into the teens by 5 p.m., causing a series of crashes as rush-hour drivers took to suddenly slippery roads.

Most anti- and de-icers lose their effectiveness when temperatures drop significantly below freezing. In Fort Collins, all 22 of the city's plows were on the streets as of 7 p.m., and crews were expecting long days ahead as the snow keeps falling.

Fredin said the snow is coming in bands, and the timing of those bands would impact Wednesday morning's commute. He said southern Larimer County was predicted to see the heaviest snow, with the models being updated overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.

City Streets Superintendent Larry Schneider said that, when the snow begins to fall, crews will start off using granular icebuster, then switch to a salt brine and then move a significantly more expensive liquid de-icer as temperatures drop lower.

“We’ve got a toolbox of products we can use,” Schneider said. “When we start getting down into the teens... there’s a point where I’m not even going to apply it. It’s not going to do any good, and we want to be conscious of the environment and the money.”

Since January, city street crews have plowed more than 50,000 lane miles, three times as much as in 2012.

The weather change prompted CSU and the city to remind residents they’re responsible for clearing their sidewalks within 24 hours after the snow stops.

State agriculture officials are also warning about the danger the extreme cold poses to animals.